Field Report: Neogroupe Neoscreener

Call screening software may not be one of the first items you think of when building or rehabbing a studio but it can play a very large role when done right. The French company Neogroupe has done exactly that with its Neoscreener software. Neoscreener goes far beyond what typical call screener software has ever done. In the past software has shown caller ID info and allowed a screener to display caller info on screen for the talent but that is where it all ended. Older software did not allow for talent to easily configure the display to show only the information they needed, did not allow for user configurable databases that retain all kinds of information and in many cases was not too stable.

Neoscreener is one piece of a software suite from Neogroupe that includes also Neowinners and Neoagent. Neoscreener is the call screening software, Neowinners handles everything for promotions and Neoagent lets the outer world (text, e-mails, Iphone apps, websites, etc.) communicate with the suite.

Neoscreener works with Telos 2101, Nx12 and 2x12 systems It is also fully able to speak to other phone systems that use the TAPI standard for communication. Upon launching the software for the first time, the user is prompted to go to the configuration screen. In this screen there is a wealth of options to configure the software to work exactly how you need it. It can be configured to handle 12 or 24 lines, and the user can configure what information is saved to the database.

In addition to the screen that a call screener would see that allows for the inputting of all the caller information, there is also a talent screen. The talent screen is user configurable to show only the information the talent wants to see. This makes for a far less distracting screen and is much easier to read.

Go to the phones

When a call comes in, the ringing line flashes on the call screener screen, the call screener would then click on the call button next to the ringing line and a caller card would pop up. Here is where information such as the caller's name, city and topic are input. If the caller has called before from the same number, the caller card will prepopulate the caller name and city fields. This is a great time saver and is also a great way to track certain callers, because notes can be input in the caller screen to be retrieved every time the caller calls. Once the card is closed the caller is placed on hold and in the ready position. This is when the information is sent to the talent screen for the on-air personality to see.

Because it is database driven, Neoscreener can run reports to track calls, see what topics bring the highest call volume and track calls by area code or any other demographic recorded.

Neoscreener also integrates with other Neo software to expand its abilities. The Neoagent software is a helpful plug in that displays all text, SMS and website e-mails on the call screener screen. This allows the jock to have only one place to look for all the information he needs from listeners. This option is really a jock favorite.

Another part of the Neo software suite is Neowinners. This software allows for full integration of the promotions database with the callers database. This allows for much easier tracking of winners and can really help jocks prevent prize hogs from winning. Because it integrates with Neoscreener, if someone has won before and falls within the limits setup by the stations the jock will be warned when that phone number comes up on the screen.

The other nice thing about Neogroupe, as a company, from an engineering standpoint is how responsive it is. This is a company that understands broadcasting and is willing to adapt its product to fit a user's needs. The company has installations in most European countries, Asia and North America.

Neoscreener has been in use at the Clear Channel Radio New York facility for almost two years now, and I cannot imagine some of our caller-intensive shows living without it. It has truly made the life of our call screeners easier, and our talent really like the talent screen view of Neoscreener. Neogroupe came through for us on very short notice and delivered a great product. I have recommended the company to several other New York City broadcast engineers, and Neo has now been installed at several stations in NYC. Neoscreener and the other software from Neogroupe are really worth the investment if you have a caller-intensive station.

Smith is supervisor broadcast/studio systems at Clear Channel Radio New York City.

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